The 1990 baseball card season was unique for several reasons. It marked the end of an era as both Donruss and Fleer lost their MLB licenses after the 1989 season. This meant 1990 would only feature sets from Topps and Score. It also saw the rise of the complete set craze where collectors sought to obtain full runs of the main brand releases. Let’s take a deeper look at what made the 1990 Topps and Score baseball card complete sets notable.
Topps held the longest ongoing MLB license and published standard size cards in gum and wax packs for the 55th consecutive year. The 792 card base set featured all 26 MLB teams from 1989. Roster changes were minimal with only a few players switching teams in the offseason. The design went with a clean white border and team logo at the bottom. All player photos were in uniform and shot against a plain background. The backs featured career stats and brief bios. Notable rookies included Tom Glavine, Gregg Olson, and Chuck Knoblauch.
Chasing the complete Topps base set was a major undertaking for collectors in 1990. With only two manufacturers, the scarcity of certain cards was higher that past years. This led to the rise of complete set want lists where collectors publicly stated which cards they still needed to find. Trading at card shows and through the mail became crucial activities. The highest series cards like #791 Tony Gwynn and #792 Nolan Ryan were regarded as particularly difficult pulls. Obtaining a 100% complete Topps 792 card base set was seen as a major achievement.
In addition to the standard base cards, Topps also released several insert sets that added to the overall challenge of completing 1990. A 3D subset featured 31 players whose photos popped out when viewed without glasses. All-Star cards highlighted the AL and NL teams from the 1989 Midsummer Classic. Topps Traded cards covered midseason player moves with 17 new faces injected into the standard set. Most notable was the Ken Griffey Jr Traded card, which signified his switch from the Mariners to the Reds. There were Update cards covering any roster changes that occurred after the printed sets had been finalized.
Unlike Topps, Score only held a license for football, basketball, and hockey. But the company found a creative way to photograph and produce baseball cards in 1990 without MLB approval. They created their Baseball Hot Packs set utilizing still photos from television broadcasts instead of original image sessions. These 125 cards featured active players from the 16 teams that appeared in postseason play in 1989. Notable names included Will Clark, Ripken, Strawberry, and Gooden. The cards featured simple white borders and no player stats on the back.
Completing the Score Baseball Hot Packs set proved less daunting than Topps. The lack of big star rookies or prospects made them less desirable to some collectors. Scarcity was also relatively low since score print runs tended to be larger than Topps. Still, Score cards were a welcomed novelty in the two-manufacturer 1990 landscape. They captured the allure and excitement of the on-field product in a unique visual way different than the sterile posed shots in Topps.
Whether aiming to finish the mammoth Topps 792 card base set or the more modest 125 card Score Baseball Hot Packs collection, the 1990 season marked a high point for complete baseball card set collecting. With only two companies in the hobby for the first time, the scarcity of certain inserts and parallel chased many collectors. The rewards were immense for those able to track down the needed pieces to wrap up these landmark releases. Even today, 1990 Topps and Score sets in pristine graded condition command top dollar from enthusiasts. They represent the pinnacle snapshot of 1980’s MLB rosters and a special period when the card boom was red hot.
The 1990 baseball card season stands out for its limited manufacturer field, iconic Topps and Score releases, and the rise of chasing full complete sets as amajorcollector goal. The Topps and Score sets from that year both feature legendary checklists of MLB stars while presenting collecting challenges that fueled the thriving hobby. Pockets of scarcity made finding elusive parallels part of the fun. Though over 30 years old, these historic cardboard collections from 1990 remain jewels that dedicated card traders still pursue to this day. The era may be gone but the passion of collectors lives on through appreciating the classic rosters trapped within the borders of their favorite slabs from that unforgettable season.
